Rowing: Haines is just oarsome as River rowers shine

Apr 30 2008 by Our Correspondent, South Wales Echo

RIVER Taff rowers made a splash at the first major British regatta of the season at Nottingham’s National Water Sports’ Centre at the weekend, writes Nick Hartland.

Cardiff University student and Wales cap Andy Haines returned to the scene of his 2007 British Under-23 silver medal to take the Senior 1 men’s singles title over the championship 2000m distance by a comfortable margin from his nearest Nottingham Boat Club challenger.

And Cardiff City RC duo Andy Davies and Dave Donaghy were also on fire in their singles, taking the Senior 3 and novice titles respectively with water to spare.

Cardiff University’s Laurence Birdsey just missed out in the elite lightweight singles, finishing second, and there was heartbreak for the student club’s women’s four, who stormed home first in their semi-final only for a rigger to snap just 20 seconds into the final, bringing their hopes to a grinding halt.

On day two over 1,000m, Cyncoed’s Haines teamed up with Davies to add more silverware to their trophy cabinets with victory in the men’s Senior 2 double sculls from Trent RC and Nottingham, while Llandaff RC junior Zak Lee-Green took up where Donaghy finished the day before by taking the novice singles crown by five lengths.

Moving up a status, Davies also finished second in Senior 1 singles, losing by just half a length to the Nottingham sculler, with Haines’ brother Mike fourth in the same event, while Cardiff University’s Bethan Smith and Swansea’s Sophie Campion came second in women’s pairs.

Meanwhile, 2.5 seconds separated the top three in the Welsh men’s rowing trials as River Taff racers finished well on top.

Racing twice against the clock over 1500m of the River Wye at Monmouth, Uwic’s Laurence Birdsey squeezed out Cardiff University’s Andy Haines by just 2.3 seconds overall with Cardiff City Rowing Club’s Andy Davies third another 0.3 seconds back.

Birdsey set the pace on the first upstream section, finishing in six minutes 49.31 seconds to pip Haines by 1.6 seconds, with Davies another 1.3 seconds back and former GB junior sculling champion Dave Loveday, from Marlow, 10 seconds adrift in fourth.

Davies proved the quickest on the return leg, crossing 0.4 seconds quicker than Birdsey in 4.48.6, with Haines just 0.7 seconds back and Loveday another five seconds back, giving overall victory to Birdsey in an aggregate 11.38.32.

Llandaff junior Zak Lee-Green was fifth overall in the 35-boat race-off in 12.03.37.

In the women’s trials, Llandaff UK medallist Tracey Corbett came home 14 seconds clear in a combined 14.04 from Cardiff University’s Emma Kinsella, though third-placed Laura Lelievre from Reading University was just 0.9 seconds off winning the second leg as she finished just 0.17 seconds down on second overall.

In the first pairs race-off, Cardiff University’s Bethan Smith set the benchmark with Swansea University’s Sophie Carmpion, racing home in 13.12 to win by 33 seconds.

Another round of pair racing saw Corbett on top with London partner Lorna Brown in a time just one second slower than the previous division, while Smith teamed up with college crewmate Catriona Kay to come second in 13.50.